She Walks A Fine Line
by Backward Blossom
Summary: A/U: Claire is Pinehearst's top agent, but when she is assigned one Gabriel Gray as her next mark, Claire has to decide whether she truly likes the person she has let herself become.
1. Chapter 1

Claire Bennet no longer grieved the loss of the young innocent she once was. She had chosen to bury the cheerleader with her pom poms and her false belief in the goodness of humanity. Claire was merely the shell of the girl she once claimed to be. She was cold-hearted and ruthless; Arthur Petrelli's top assassin and she thrived in thrill of the next mission. However that was until the day she was summoned to her grandfather's office. Arthur stood by his window lined wall, his back turned towards her as she entered. He showed no outward awareness to her presence. Becoming impatient, Claire cleared her throat. "You wanted to see me sir?" She grasped her hands behind her back, waiting at attention. She showed no fear; nothing made Claire Bennet tremble in terror. Although, she was very curious as to her impromptu summon to the head of Pinehearst. Finally acknowledging her, the older man turned away from the glass. His time weathered face showed slight agitation at the women before him. He glided across like death, closing the space between them far too quickly for a man of his age.

"Yes indeed Claire." His hands were strategically placed on her shoulders. To any third-party it would seem like the embrace of grandfather to his prodigy, but for Arthur it was all about dominance and the display of power. Claire could feel it rolling off him like cheap cologne, her skin crawling at the feeling of it. To Arthur, Claire was simply a weapon against all those opposed to him, a very effective weapon that always succeeded, no matter the cost or casualties. "And?" Claire demanded. If it was a new mission, she wanted intel, immediately. She was like an addict, craving another sweet hit of adventure.

"Patience is a virtue Claire. Perhaps I should give this mission to Knox. I'm sure he would love to take this assignment off your hands." Arthur's eyebrows rose questioningly, awaiting Claire's response.

"You can't be serious; Knox is: kill first, questions later. Besides, how could you possibly want that conceited, son of a—," Arthur's hand left her shoulder and came to rest against Claire's lips, effectively silencing her from continuing. "Language my dear Claire, you know how much I detest a foul mouth. Remember, pure of mind, pure of body." First off, she was getting pretty fucking sick of him saying her name that way, plus the constant repetition of it was starting to piss her off. It was as if he was deliberately trying to use it in every sentence. Second, he needed to desist this invasion of her personal space. Grandfather, boss, leader, whatever he was, gave him no invitation to touch her. Claire ranked human contact number one on her list of things she loathed. If he was anyone else, Arthur Petrelli would be writhing on the floor, nursing a broken arm, if he was lucky, right about then. As it is, Arthur was the most powerful man in the world and crossing him would be very stupid. Finally, what the hell did he just say? _'Pure'? Claire? _She killed people for a living; seriously what was the old loon on about?

She let the matter drop, figuring it was not important enough to warrant a response. She also didn't want to jeopardize her chances of acquiring a new mission. The last few months had been relatively quiet and she was getting a tad stir-crazy. "So, um, are you going to keep me in the dark, or are you going to fill me in on the details of my next assignment?" Claire spoke with conviction, as if she was sure she had the mission, which she already knew, without a single doubt in her mind, because she was the best; she was Claire "Fucking" Bennet and she was passed over for no one. Claire was nothing, if she was not proud, and that brought her no shame. She had earned the right to boast a galactic size ego, single handedly bringing down her infamous uncle, Saint Peter saw to that. She didn't kill him of course. Arthur still had a soft spot for him. It wouldn't mattered if she did have the all clear to terminate, Peter was a friggn' cockroach, just like her. In the end, Arthur simply stripped him of his powers and sent him back to his pathetic life in New York. Last Claire had heard, Peter was working as a paramedic, soon to be married to a deaf woman named Emma, or something like that. The women saw colors; how lame is that? She might as well be just another pitiful non-evolved human roaming the earth; Emma Coolidge was certainly nothing special.

Arthur retreated from his position in front of her to ease himself into his favorite arm chair. He motioned for Claire to join him. Not hesitating in her actions, Claire chose a similar chair parallel to his. "As I'm sure my dear, you are very eager to heat the particulars as to why I called you in here. Is that correct?" Claire nodded, signaling to Arthur that he should continue. Noticing her fervent demeanor, he decided not keep her waiting. "It has come to my attention a certain individual."

"Would you like me to eliminate him sir?" Claire was at the edge of her seat in excitement. She had no reason not to believe Arthur's motives on the "certain individual" were to have him executed. That was usually the reason for her visits to this particular room in the Pinehurst facility. So it came, a great surprise to Claire when Arthur's expression turned quickly sour. He was clearly irritated by her outburst and swift assumptions.

"No Claire. That is not my intentions." Arthur rose from his chair to retrieve a folder off his desk and returned to his seated position. He handed Claire the folder and motioned for her to have a look. Arthur folded his hands beneath his chin and fixed his gaze on Claire as she devoured to contents within.

"Who's this Gabriel Gray? I have never heard of him." She asked curiously. Arthur did not mock her for her ignorance in the matter; he simply smiled and added, "No I don't believe you would have. Mr. Gray is the Company's best kept secret."

"Why? Does he have an ability?"

"He has the potential to have many." Arthur added excitedly.

"Potential, sir I don't understand." Claire was thoroughly confused. Why all these smoke and mirrors? She wanted him to give her all the facts before her head exploded. She hated to be out of the loop and that is exactly how she felt. What was he asking her to do with this Gabriel Gray?

"Claire you need to stop thinking so much or your head might explode," He gave her a knowing smile. Claire could only give him her best death glare; she was wise enough not tell him off for reading her mind. _Nosey bastard_, "Claire," he said her name in warning. She shrugged it off. She couldn't help what she was thinking any more than he could help hearing it, know-it-all syndrome after all. Arthur simply couldn't help himself. "You are lucky you're my favorite."

"Noted, so, back to what you were saying. What makes this man so special?"

"Gabriel Gray is probably the only man left in this world that can pose a threat to me. His ability, if left unchecked, has the capability to replicate the powers of others."

"Kind of like Peter's empathy?"

"No, he rips off the tops of people's heads and understands how they work, but most importantly he can rearrange his own DNA to allow for similar mutations."

"If he's so dangerous, why hasn't the Company bagged and tagged him? It's not like them to let someone, such as this Gabriel Gray, go free."

Arthur contemplated her question. Thinking back on what he said, it was easy for Claire to infer that about Mr. Gray. "Well, strictly speaking, he has only killed two people. The first was when he learned of his ability. It is to be believed that he was not entirely in control of his power leading to the rather unfortunate death of one Brian Davis."

"And the second?"

"The company's fault on that one; they wanted to see how exactly he acquired abilities, so they had Elle Bishop, you remember her, pretty blonde firecracker, manipulate him into doing it again. They figured after learning how he transferred powers they would have him come work for the Company. Angela insisted that he had to be brought in willingly, or not at all. This was of course was due to one of her ridiculously confusing and barely reliable dreams of hers. And so the Company has been awaiting the day Gabriel will finally take them up on their offer, schmucks." Claire was on the wall with this gentleman. She couldn't decide whether to brand him as a psychotic killer who murdered people for his own personal gain, or if he was just misunderstood, a man who was not entirely at fault for the deeds he had done. It really didn't matter either way she figured. She would carry out her orders without a second thought. She did admire him, however, for not giving into the Company.

"Oh, interesting fact. Elle's partner on that particular assignment was none other than the infamous Noah Bennet." Claire's back went rigid at the mention of her father's name. There was nothing relevant about revealing that particular detail. Without that specific information, she would still fully understand the situation. Arthur was only trying to bait her, or perhaps he was just a vindictive asshole who gained pleasure from other people's suffering. Whatever his reasons for divulging the name of her adopted dad, it still brought with it a reminder of the misery that name induced, the faint glimmer of the Odessa High School cheerleader with her golden hair and contagious smile, perhaps the very essence of the person she had chosen to bury forever. If her past self could only see her now, this Claire Bennet was most definitely a disappointment.

"Perhaps we should move on to the purpose I brought you here, hmm," Arthur interrupted her inner turmoil.

"Yeah sure," her excitement had started to ebb. She was not accustomed to feeling insecure. What she needed now was to shake it off, firmly locking Noah Bennet away in the farthest reaches of her mind (where he belonged), and focus solely on the here and now. "So if you don't want me to kill him, what exactly do you want me to do with him? Do want me to bring him here?"

"Gabriel is an extremely intelligent man. He would never trust us if we just came out and asked him to work with us. No, we have to be subtle about it. I want you to insert yourself into his life, gain his confidence. Use that sweet southern charm I know is still beneath that harden exterior." Arthur rose once again from his chair, making so Claire had to crane her neck to maintain eye contact. Thankfully he held out his hand to her, almost giving his permission for her to join him. "I don't have to remind you how important that we assimilate Gabriel into our ranks Claire, do I?"

"No Sir."

"Good. He is far too great a threat to be left alone."

"Is that all?" Arthur nodded his approval, effectively dismissing her.

As quickly as her short gait could carry her, she swiftly walked the length of his office. Before she slammed the door s shut behind her, Claire could Arthur's parting goodbye. "Happy hunting Claire," _Yep he just had to say her name one more time…_

**tbc**


	2. Chapter 2

"So, what did the boss want?" Daphne's eagerness seeped into her tone as she asked the one question she'd been dying to voice. Claire found her ever constant need for acceptance rather grating. The woman meant well; they were on the same side after all, but Claire was a solitary soul and Daphne's clingy nature had her fingers twitching for her sidearm.

"Just to assign me a mission," Claire answered hoping that would be the end of the conversation. Surely her curiosity was sated and she'd have no further need to continue on with the interrogation. She had more important matters to attend to, like beginning her mission. Standing around in the middle of Pinehearst was not accomplishing anything.

"Details Claire. Please!" The older woman pleaded for Claire's immediate response. "You know I live vicariously through your life."

Claire gave a deep sigh not caring if Daphne was offended by her complete annoyance of the woman. On closer examination, Claire noticed it had gone over the woman's head entirely. "It's only a recruiting mission. Arthur wants me to study this guy, get him to trust me, nothing I can't handle with ease."

"Who is he? Is he hot?"

"Daphne!" Clearly with age did not come maturity. She was in complete disbelief that Daphne was the older of the pair. It had Claire wondering if the blonde woman had ever truly left her teenage years behind. How could she begrudge the woman though. After all, she was married to that oaf Parkman. There was no redeeming feature there and any mission with an attractive enough male had the woman salivating at the prospect. Poor, poor Daphne, she probably hadn't been satisfied by a real man in years. Taking pity on her, Claire withdrew the photo from the folder Arthur had given her back at his office. Snatching it away quickly , Daphne brought the picture closer, her brows scrunching in concentration. "Well," she finally exclaimed giving a short pause for effect. "There is something about him, but he's a bit of a nerd isn't he," she handed the photo back to Claire and smothered a giggle behind her hand. "Hope your mission isn't to seduce him." Daphne was barely able to say over her sudden fit of laughter. Claire roughly placed the photo back in the folder. Finally turning her back and leaving the hysterical woman behind her as she walked away. "Claire, wait I'm sorry. Come back."

Not even giving her the courtesy of turning around, Claire answered, "I have a mission to complete." Claire moved with the single purpose of reaching the armory. One could never be without a small arsenal at their disposal. She had no idea what to expect with this Gabriel fellow and it never hurt to be prepared. It really was a shame that her mission wasn't search and destroy. Not only did she receive some kind of sick pleasure of the suffering of her enemies, but living as a domestic, pretending to be a nobody wiliest gaining the confidence of one of the most important persons on the face of the earth was not an easy task. It left ample time for mistakes…and she had to be _sweet_. The word left a foul taste on her tongue. No one would ever dare describe Claire as sweet, or any other word of similar meaning. God she hadn't even started yet and already she wished for its end. Perhaps someone, like Daphne for example, would be better suited for this assignment. Claire had to stop that thought in it's tracks. In what crazy messed up world was that woman ever the more desirable choice. She laughed at that, Daphne being the top agent.

As her inner thoughts continued, Claire pushed passed the doors to the armory. Grabbing a duffel bag off one of the racks, she began loading it with weapons, anything she thought she'd need for her stay in New York. Hopefully she wouldn't need to use any of these if all went to plan. How hard could it be to befriend a sad pathetic geek like Gabriel Gray?

* * *

><p>Speeding down the freeway, Claire let her window down. She liked the feel of the wind slapping against her face; it didn't matter that her hair kept jabbing her in the eye, or getting stuck in her mouth, it was pure freedom. It reminded her of flying with West all those years ago. Even though she knew that falling would cause no damage, there was still the rush of being hundreds of miles above the ground. The sad thing was, she missed his ability more than the boy himself.<em> It would seem he left a very lasting impression on her<em> Claire thought sarcastically. She wondered what Fly Boy was up to these days, probably just graduated from college and trying to find a half decent nine to five job in this shitty economy. Why does he insist on trying to be normal; he was a far cry from that. He could fly for fuck's sake. Instead of being honored by the incredible cosmic gift he had been given, he wastes his energy trying to ignore and bury a part of who is. Claire grimaced in disgust. Why should someone like West be allowed to possess an ability at all?

So with her suitcase packed full of the basic essentials, Claire was on her way to New York. The long drive from the Pinehearst facility was not a chore, as most people would find such a long distance road trip. It allowed for the peace and solitude that she craved in her life, which, for her, was very rare. Either Daphne or some other agent was constantly asking for advice, wanting to make irritating small talk, etc etc. It was meaningless chatter of the inferior masses. She had to take the good with the bad she figured. There had to be some form of consequences for her lifestyle. Since she could never be killed, God could not pass final judgment upon her, so Karma decided to bite her in the ass. However, along the lines of punishment, she'd gladly take it. _Better than the consecutive life sentences she should receive._ Claire would not feel guilt over her actions. It was all in pursuit of a better world, saving the planet for a brighter future and all that. A small voice screamed at her that she was only lying to herself. Perhaps it was her inner cheerleader, but Claire refused to acknowledge it. She had no regrets and she wouldn't begin to now.

Refusing to continue her inner musings any longer, Claire switched on the radio. It was mostly country stations, but she finally settled on one playing rock classics. She could live with that. Hours passed before she could make out the bright lights of Manhattan on the horizon. She had admit, it was a very stunning sight. Her awe was soon replaced with relief, glad she would finally be able to stretch her legs and relax for the night. Finding a suitable hotel wasn't difficult, although acquiring parking for her vehicle was an entirely different matter all together. She was definitely sticking to other means of transportation during her stay here.

Walking through the lobby, room key in hand, Claire spotted something in the small hotel store. She picked up the box, turning it over in her hands. _How could something so insignificant be so frightening? _Claire went back and forth in her mind for several minutes before yelling at herself for being such a coward. She handed her money over to the store clerk, oblivious to his appreciative stares. She thanked him quickly and ran off to her room on the fourth floor. By the time she reached her door she was already out of breath having opted to tackle the stairs with her heavy luggage. What could she say, waiting for that elevator was very aggravating. Although, she immediately wished she hand't after the first flight, but she stubbornly kept going until she reached her floor. Thankfully she was young and and the trip wasn't too far.

"Where's that damn key card?" Claire cursed under her breath. She knew she had it back in the lobby. In her attempt to reach her pocket, the duffel slid from her shoulder. "Seriously," she said to no one in particular. She quenched the urge to stomp her foot like a child. Smothering her irrational rage, she continued her search for her key. Claire hoped she hadn't lost it already. The idea of returning to the lobby and asking for a new one was not an option. Thankfully, the card was safely tucked away in her back pocket. After a few failed attempts at unlocking the door, the light turned green, allowing her entrance. Who's idea was it to switch to these anyway? A sigh of pleasure escaped as she relieved herself of her luggage. Grabbing her recently purchased item, Claire headed towards the bathroom. Deciding on a shower first, she stripped off her clothes as she waited for the water to become hot. Satisfied that the water was the appropriate temperature, Claire stepped in. She lifted her face up to the spray, not caring if it burned her skin. Perhaps she was somewhat of a masochist, or maybe because she was reassured she was indeed human, but the pain was almost enjoyable.

Not willing to leaving the comfort of the shower, but knowing she must, Claire sullenly exited, grabbing a towel to wrap around herself. She made her way to the bathroom counter and picked up the box she had brought with her. She was all too familiar with this particular product having used it on quite a regular basis. There was no going back now. This was for the mission, and the mission is everything. Arthur wants that charming blonde from Texas he'll get it. Claire ripped the box open, nearly spilling it's contents all over the bathroom. After a brief glance at the instructions, began the slow process of reverting her brunette locks back to its original shade. Rinsing out her hair, Claire raised her head to stare at herself in the mirror. The person staring back was was the cheerleader.

**tbc**


End file.
